20th Century Art, 1920-1940: Realism and Surrealism

Gaff, Jackie. 20th Century Art, 1920-1940: Realism and Surrealism. 2000. 32p. ISBN 978-0-8368-2850-4. Available at 709.04 GAF on the library shelves.

The destruction wrought by the First World War fundamentally altered the perception that humanity was continuously evolving and becoming better. Before the War artists had escaped the bounds of perception and reality, experiencing with vivid colors and strange combinations of forms and functions. But with so much devastation, artists were suddenly forced to deal with the world as it was, and not as they wanted it to be. Whereas no one had really questioned whether artists were needed prior to the War, the chaos and revolutions that ensued placed major demands on artists to create art that was not merely colorful but rather relevant to their society. Some artists took on that role with remarkable eagerness, while others, such as Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst continued their escape from the real world into Surrealism.

The Bauhaus, a German art school, created art that was both beautiful and functional. This group experimented with form and function, and was eventually banished by the Nazis in the 1930s. Other Germans made art critical of their society and sought to express distress and disgust at unstable economic conditions in Germany following the end of the war. In Britain, Stanley Spencer, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth reconnected with the past to inspire new works. Meanwhile, in the United States artists attempted to represent their world through realistic but gloomy pictures. The Great Depression struck throughout the world and led to resentment and pain, which the artists seized on to explain what was happening. Mexican muralists such as Diego Rivera crafted colossal paintings to educate and inspire viewers. Soviet art also sought to express the ideas that the State was all powerful and deserved allegiance.

As dictators emerged in the 1930s and took control of major countries in Europe, it became clear to most that another war was coming. The German destruction of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War demoralized Republican forces and led Picasso to create one of his most famous painting that illustrated the suffering and death caused by bombs dropped from airplanes.